Ye who have a spark in your veins of cockney spirit, smile or mourn acccording as you take things well or ill;— Bold Britons, we are now on Shooter's Hill!
Wide Horizons have been making progress on their project to turn the 5-acre woodland site on Constitution Rise into an outdoor learning centre. Their Director of Operations Hamish Cherrett recently e-mailed local residents with an update:
Since my last communication we have been working hard on various fundraising bids to secure essential funding to improve the access and ensure basic amenities such as water supply and toilets are installed along with works including remediation of the ponds at the north of the site.
We have also been talking with some local primary schools about long term partnerships to assist with regeneration and conservation work as well as using the site as an education base, any partnerships are still to be confirmed however we hope that classes from at least two schools will start to use the site regularly from October. Over the coming weeks we will have groups of young people undertaking conservation and ground clearance work so you will likely see activity around the entrance at various times. All activities will be structured and are being led by Wide Horizons tutors, any activity will take place between 10am-4pm.
Wide Horizons are planning to hold an open evening at their centre in Eltham where they will present their proposals for the woods over the next 2 years. They also hope to have the Head Teacher of at least one of their partner schools present to share their thoughts about the woods project. The date for the open evening hasn’t been announced yet.
Snippet from Alan Godfrey’s 1866 OS Map of Shooters HillGoogle maps snippet showing location of woodland on Constitution Rise
As can be seen on the snippet above from Alan Godfrey’s 1866 OS map, above, the woodland on Constitution Rise used to be part of the grounds of a large house called The Rookery. According to Bagnold it was once called The Grove and in 1802 it was leased by Henry Lidgbird to a G.T. Goodenough who lived there until 1819. After that it was the summer residence of Edward Strachey, the second son ofSir Henry Strachey, and his wife Julia. They called the property Goodenough House, and it was referred to as such by the philosopher and historian Thomas Carlyle who visited the Stracheys in Shooters Hill a number of times. Carlyle, in his Reminiscences, described the house and its gardens as follows
They lived in Fitzroy Square, a fine-enough house, and had a very pleasant country establishment at Shooter’s Hill ; where, in summer time, they were all commonly to be found. I have seldom seen a pleasanter place ; a panorama of green, flowery, clear, and decorated country all round ; an umbrageous little park, with roses, gardens ; a modestly excellent house ; from the drawing-room window a continual view of ships, multiform and multitudinous, sailing up or down the river (about a mile off) ; smoky London as background ; the clear sky overhead ; and within doors honesty, good sense, and smiling seriousness the rule, and not the exception.
Edward Strachey was an employee of the East India Company and worked in India for many years in various posts culminating in his appointment as a judge of the provincial court of appeal at Dacca. On his return to London he held a post at East India House where his colleagues included James Mill, his son John Stuart Mill and Thomas Love Peacock. The Stracheys were also well acquainted with Edward Irving. Edward Strachey died at Shooter’s Hill on 3 January 1832 and his wife on 20 November 1847.
The house was occupied, again according to Bagnold, between 1845 and 1847 by Henry Alwin Soames, and its name had changed back to The Grove. It appears on the 1866 OS map as The Rookery, and has that name in a local directory of 1874. There were a number of other occupants, mainly military men, until it was demolished to make way for the Wimpey Estate around the time that Bagnold was writing in 1936-38.
I doubt that anything remains of the house, and its gardens, while still umbrageous (perhaps too umbrageous), are very overgrown. It’ll be interesting to hear more about what Wide Horizons plan for the future of the Rookery’s gardens.
Guided tour of the woodland site in FebruaryChickens at Wide Horizon’s Eltham Centre
Hannah from Woodlands Farm e-mailed to say that the sloes on the farm are ready to be harvested already, a lot earlier than usual, so they have hastily arranged their annual Hedgerow Liqueurs day for Saturday 4th October 2014 :
Join us for a tramp and forage around the hedgerows, followed by sloe gin making.
Bring your own gin or spirit of choice together with at least a one litre, wide neck (>2.5cm) container. Alternatively, Kilner type jars, 1.5 litre, will be available at cost price. Sugar, sloes and wild damsons will be provided by Woodlands Farm.
Book early via the Farm Office, numbers limited
Please dress appropriately for outdoor activities and bring a packed lunch
9.45am—3.30pm
Price £15 (£10 members)
18+years only
You can contact the farm to book a place by phone on 020 8319 8900 or by e-mail on woodlandsft@aol.com
There’s another new arrival to visit at the farm: a British White calf born recently, seen below with her mother Clover.
Clover the British White and her new calf at Woodlands Farm
Green Chain Megawalkers gather at Crystal Palace Station
Walk London‘s series of free guided walks this weekend – their Autumn Ambles – includes one of the longest but most rewarding “ambles” in London: the Green Chain Megawalk. The 22 mile amble actually moves along at a steady average walking speed, and will be led once again by Ian Bull, our favourite leader of walks in South-East London and a bit of an expert on the Green Chain, not to mention a part-time restorer of steam locomotives. The walk starts at Crystal Palace railway station at 9.15am on Saturday, 27th September and finishes more than 9 hours later down at the Thames near Erith railway station. The Walk London web site has the details:
The Green Chain Megawalk is by a considerable margin the longest established long-distance guided walk in London and many hundreds have participated. Some thought they wouldn’t complete such a distance, yet the camaraderie and expert guidance have seen all but a handful achieve an on-time finish. Every one of the participants has taken wonderful memories from the day. Here’s your chance to join the institution!
We’ll gently climb to some of the highest points in the city, suburbia giving way to outstanding views and miles of London’s best woodland, some established for 8,000 years. For lengthy sections you won’t know you are in a town, let alone the Metropolis as well over half the route is off-road. Despite travelling around an entire quartile of London we’ll cross just 40 surfaced thoroughfares.
The route is steep in its latter parts, a packed lunch is essential, and of course you must be reasonably fit. You must also be able to sustain three miles per hour for most of a day and if you think you can, this particularly friendly event is the one Walk London walk that you should do. There is no need to book, just turn up and go, a remarkable day awaits you.
One of the good things about the walk is that if 22 miles proves too much then it is possible to drop out along the way and get a bus or train home, and for those living in Shooters Hill the late lunchtime stop at the Oxleas Café can be an early finishing point if the legs are ready to give up after 16 miles.
There’s an interactive map of the route of the Green Chain Walk on the Green Chain web site here. For further information about the walk contact Ian by phone, 020 7223 3572 or email – ianbull at btinternet dot com.
The Green Chain Megawalk is by far the longest of the Autumn Ambles; most of them are just a couple of miles, and there are walks taking in Soho, St. Paul’s and the City of London. Looks like a good weekend for a walk.
Ian Bull leads Green Chain walkers cross Eaglesfield Park
Liz, who chairs the Friends of the Pet Cemetery, wrote to let me know about a presentation she is giving about the cemetery’s history at Charlton House on Saturday. The Friends’ latest newsletter has the details:
If you would like to hear more about the history of the former Blue Cross Cemetery, our Chair, Liz McDermott, will be giving a PowerPoint presentation for the Charlton History Society, Charlton House, Saturday 13th September, commencing at 2.30pm. All welcome.
I hear the presentation includes some great old archive photos.
The Pet Cemetery originated in the Blue Cross Quarantine Kennels which started at the end of the First World War and particularly looked after service men and women’s pets. They provided accommodation for 123 dogs along with cats and other pets including guinea pigs. It later fell into disrepair, and the Friends were set up in 2012 with the aim of refreshing the memorial stones, replanting the garden beds, improving the seating, installing bird and bat boxes and creating a wildlife-friendly environment.
They’ve made some great progress on these objectives: old, untidy shrubs have been removed and hedges trimmed (revealing more memorial stones); the bird and bat boxes are up, and at least one of the bird boxes has had occupants; and some of the stones have been cleaned up, with help from stonework professionals. There’s a “before” and “after” pair of photographs of one of the cleaned memorials below.
The Friends meet at the cemetery on the second Sunday of each month to continue their maintenance and restoration work, and they welcome visitors and helpers. Their future plans include a full survey of the cemetery, educational visits, more planting and possibly a pet “memorial wall”.
Pet cemetery Headstone – beforePet cemetery Headstone – after
MIDNIGHT MEGAWALK – FRIDAY 5TH SEPTEMBER 2014.
CRYSTAL PALACE RAILWAY STATION at 23.30.
At last… There’s finally a strong chance of clear skies on Friday/Saturday 5th/6th September. No rain is forecast and it’s going to be nice and warm as well. There hasn’t been a clear Friday/Saturday since late May – not one!
This is your chance to experience a very pleasant walk in remarkable conditions. There are miles of dense woodland on our route and in them it will be jet-black. Barely a photon will disturb us when we stand still for a moment and listen to the nocturnal wildlife quietly scurrying through the undergrowth. As first light begins to show at about 04.00 the sky will gently become turquoise from the North leaving black to the South and from our best vantage points, London’s streetlights gleaming gold beneath us. The views are glorious, the darkness delicious, and the landscape is London’s best.
There’s no need to book and no charge, just turn up, but feel very free to ask me in advance for further information.
What we’re going to do…
* We meet outside Crystal Palace railway station at 23.30 on Friday 5th September.
* The pace will be leisurely, we don’t even have to make average walking speed.
* The aim is to see the Sun rising over East Anglia and the Lower Thames from Shooters Hill, very nearly London’s highest point, at 06.21 and we will achieve this.
* The overall distance is 21.5 miles but a 1.5 mile diversion through excellent woodland will be offered to see the Gothicky (spooky?) Severndroog Castle. There are benches for a nap for those who don’t want to do this.
* After sunrise we’ll traverse Bostall Woods and Lesnes Abbey Woods. About four miles of these, and the latter has been there for 8,000 years, London’s finest ancient woodland.
* Finish at Erith about 08.30 for a train home. No engineering works – 33 minutes to London Bridge.
* Some participants traditionally have a breakfast together in a Café near London Bridge after the event.
Ian can be contacted by e-mail on ianbull at btinternet dot com
If you prefer to walk the Green Chain in the light of day Ian is also planning to hold a day-time megawalk on Saturday 27th September.
Ian Bull and day-time Green Chain walkers admire the view in Shrewsbury Park
Bats have become very popular, perhaps surprisingly given their past unfortunate associations with blood-sucking vampires. Bat walks are consistently fully booked up: both Woodlands Farm and Hall Place had no spare spaces on nightime strolls with bat detectors in the last couple of weeks. And in July the Bat Conservation Trust’s Bat Fest weekend at the Natural History Museum had its busiest year yet with nearly 3000 visitors.
The Friends of Shrewsbury Park‘s bat walks have always been very well attended. This year’s will be held next Friday, 5th September. An e-mail from the Friends gave the details:
We will be providing a bat walk on Friday 5th September. If you would like to attend, please meet in the car park at 7.30pm for an introduction to bats by Kris and Les, and a demonstration on how to use the bat detectors. The walk will last about an hour and a half.
– please wear sturdy shoes and appropriate clothing
– children must be accompanied by an adult
– dogs must be kept on a lead
– please bring a torch.
If you have mobility issues, please contact us so we can help you to participate. The trail is a mixture of paved path, gravel and grass.
If it rains, neither the bats nor us will be coming out!!
Biggles the giant Pipistrelle at Bat Fest at the Natural History Museum
To enter the competition all you have to do is create something original and inspiring that represents how you celebrated International Bat Night. Your entry could be a drawing or painting of a bat you saw whilst on a bat walk, a picture of bat shaped cookies you baked, or a poem or short story inspired by your activities.
The closing date for entries is next Friday 5th September.
Why the increased interest in bats and bat walks? Part of the reason, I think, is that bat detectors have become less expensive, and they are also available for loan for bat walks from the BCT, London Bat Group and park groups so it’s easier to find bats. Also, though, they are such fascinating creatures. They can detect and then capture insects such as midges on the wing using their echolocation – they shout continually as they fly around and use the echoes from tiny insects to “see” where their prey is. They have wonderful wings, constructed from layers of skins over elongated finger bones, hence the name of their order, chiroptera, meaning “hand-wing”. This gives them great agility and control in flight, as you can see in the amazing film footage included below.
The Falconwood Hotel (photograph from Greenwich Heritage Centre)
It’s hard to believe now that the little track running into Oxleas Wood from Shooters Hill was once the drive way to the Portland-stone Palladian mansion shown in the photograph above from Greenwich Heritage Centre. It was the home of Lords and Barons, painted by society artists and also once a hotel with 20 bedrooms. It was as grand inside as out, as shown in the set of photographs in the London Metropolitan Archive. These were taken in 1955 not that long before its demolition, and depict its elegant drawing rooms and a magnificent double-branched curved staircase as well as the boarded up exterior.
The site of Falconwood is today a butterfly-filled meadow surrounded by Oxleas Woods.
When the mansion was built in 1864-67 by the 2nd Lord Truro, Charles Robert Wilde, it was called Falconhurst. Lord Truro was related to Sir James Plaisted Wilde, who became Lord Penzance, and lived nearby at Jackwood. In the London Metropolitan Archive there is a typed sheet of reminiscences by Major C.E.S Phillips of Castle House about Falconwood. He has this to say about Lord Truro:
Falconwood was built by Lord Truro, reputed an illegitimate son of George IV. It is on Crown Land and was granted to him free of ground rent. Lord Truro had lived much in Italy and built Falconwood in purely Italian style. When his wife died (about 1880) she was buried under the lawn at mid-night by Lord Truro and his gardener Mr. Hart. The grave was surrounded by some beautiful wrought iron work, but after Lord Truro’s death in Italy this was removed and nobody knows now exactly where the grave is.
Lord Truro left the place and a strip of freehold land on the other side of the road to a very beautiful lady of limited virtue. They were a magnificent pair on horseback, both perfect riders. The legacy proved a nightmare for the legatee, for as soon as the Earl died, the Crown Office afixed a ground rent of £400 per annum on the property and she had no means of paying it. It was put up to auction but the first time there was not a bid for it. On the second auction it was bought by Sir Clarence Smith for I think £5000. It has cost £50,000.
I am indebted to our old Mr. Hart for the matter of the 1st part of this, it was he who helped bury Lady Truro, for all the rest I have relied on my memory only as I was familiar with all the facts at the time.
David Lloyd Bathe’s “Steeped In History” gives more details of the story: it reprints an article from the Daily Telegraph from 17th October 1879 which says that Lord Truro used a light coffin so as to “not arrest the process of natural decay”, and that the burial spot was chosen by Lady Truro. It also says that they understood that the Lady’s remains were later removed by her relatives. The burial in non-consecrated ground shocked the neighbourhood, and one resident said they could smell the emanation of sulphurous gases.
“Steeped In History” details the subsequent occupancy of the mansion. After Hull MP Clarence Smith moved out in 1908 he was unable to find a purchaser and the lease reverted to the crown. It was then let to Catherine (Kate) Rose Marie Antoinette d’Erlanger (née de Robert d’ Aqueria de Rochegude), wife of Baron Emile Beaumont d’Erlanger. Baroness d’Erlanger was known as “the Flame” because of the colour of her hair, and was renowned for her lavish entertaining. She was very well connected, as Philip Mershon says:
Catherine cultivated the most astonishingly irreverent continental society of bohemians, artists and aristocrats at salons in her homes. She was pals with Ravel, Debussy, Nijinsky and Proust. She was also financial patroness to Diaghilev, The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and Cecil Beaton.
Catherine herself was photographed by Cecil Beaton, and also by Lafayette Ltd in the picture below from the National Portrait Gallery. It shows her in a “tableau vivant”, which was part of an entertainment called The Masque of War and Peace held in aid of the Widows and Orphans of the Household Troops during the Boer War.
Enid, turning her ‘ardent snobbish eyes, mad with interest’ on the beau monde, soon wandered through a hole in the hedge. Announcing her credentials boldly, she told the Baroness she was a journalist poised to write books. She knew that her inadequate clothes and schoolgirl fresh face were not enough. ‘Whatever I have looked like, and what my face has not carried, I have always had a sort of vitality that did instead’. She managed to put herself over. But the d’Erlangers were installing a hard tennis court and Enid’s immediate entry ticket was her facility with a tennis racket. She quickly became a daughter of the household.
The d’Erlangers left Falconwood at the time of the First World War. In June 1924 the Baroness applied to the London County Council for a licence to hold music and dancing entertainments in the drawing room on Falconwood’s ground floor. The licence committee notes in the London Metropolitan Archive say that it was proposed to use Falconwood as a private hotel. In 1932 the Baroness surrendered the lease and later moved to Hollywood.
Falconwood continued as a hotel under new management. In the archives there are Music and Dancing licence applications from Walter Frank Mills in 1933, Frederick Henry Clark in 1934 and F. Hugh Gough in 1936. The hotel seems to have continued in operation until after the war, but eventually failed. According to E.F.E. Jefferson’s “The Woolwich Story” Falconwood was acquired by Woolwich Borough Council in 1936 and was “laid out” in the 1950s and incorporated into Oxleas Wood. The house itself was demolished in 1959.
Falconwood Bexley. This district was developed in the 1930s as Falconwood Park on the site of a large wood called West Wood on the Ordinance Survey maps of 1805 and 1876 (earlier Westwood 1551). It is said to have been given this name to attract new residents.
So West Wood – the wood at the west end of the Manor of Bexley – was the name of the district, and of the farm there, until Ideal Homesteadsbuilt Falconwood Park in the 1930’s, Maybe the company was inspired by the history up the hill when naming its new estate.
As for the site of the mansion it is now a peaceful butterfly-filled meadow only occasionally enlivened by walkers and dogs.
Site of the former Falconwood HotelCommon Blue butterfly at site of former Falconwood HotelMeadow Brown butterfly at site of former Falconwood Hotel
Emily from the Fan Museum wrote with details of their Open Day tomorrow, Saturday 2nd August 2014, a repeat of last year’s successful event. They are aiming to encourage members of the local community who have not visited the museum before to do so. Entry is free (with valid ID such as a driving licence or utility bill) to all residents in the boroughs of Greenwich and Lewisham. This will include:
• entry to the museum for all Royal Greenwich and Lewisham borough residents
• Curator-led mini tours throughout the day
• fan-making demonstrations throughout the day
• children’s activity trails
• refreshments in the Orangery: a sample taster of their popular Afternoon Tea
The Museum’s afternoon tea is one of “London’s ten best afternoon teas” according to the Daily Telegraph, which recommends “a satisfyingly hefty hunk of chocolate brownie, moist and filled with white chocolate chunks”. There’s also a chance to see a collection of over 4000 fans, most of them antique. The museum’s building is interesting too: it is formed of two Grade II listed Georgian Town Houses and features a beautiful mural-decorated Orangery where the afternoon tea is served.
The museum’s address is: 12 Crooms Hill, Greenwich, London SE10 8ER and the Open Day starts at 11.00am and is open until 5.00pm.
Two thousand and twenty-eight pages in eighteen impenetrable documents have been published by Transport for London as part of their consultation on new river crossings in East London, and nowhere does it discuss the prospect of increased traffic in residential roads south of the river. A surprising omission since the poor road infrastructure south of the Thames was one of the major issues in earlier consultations, and could be seen as the reason that the previous Thames Gateway Bridge scheme was cancelled.
Also, bizarrely, all the traffic modelling assumes that the Silvertown Tunnel is already in place! Why? Not only is it not in place, but its construction is not even part of the current consultation: there will be a separate consultation later about Silvertown. Even if the tunnel is approved it will take longer to construct than a bridge or ferry at Gallions Reach so for several years we’ll be dealing with the impact on traffic in the absence of the tunnel, and that’s what the modelling should have shown.
This assumption that the Silvertown Tunnel has already been built pervades the Traffic Impact Report, to the extent that many of the traffic flow maps don’t show how traffic will change compared to today, but how they will change compared to the flow after the Silvertown Tunnel has been developed. They are useless for anyone trying to work out how traffic flows will change in the future.
The consultation asks for our opinions about four possible river crossings:
1. A new modern ferry at Woolwich
2. A ferry service at Gallions Reach
3. A bridge at Gallions Reach
4. A bridge at Belvedere
We have until 18th September 2014 to respond, and can do so using an online survey. It can be completed quite quickly; there are just 15 simple questions. Transport for London are holding some roadshows about the proposals where TfL say their staff will be able to answer any of our questions. There is one at Woolwich Library tomorrow (26th July) between 11.00am and 4.00pm and another at the Broadway Shopping centre, Bexleyheath on Saturday 30th August from 9.00am to 2.00pm.
Routing of trips using a charged Gallions Bridge from TfL’s Traffic Impact Report
I must admit I haven’t read all 2028 pages of TfL’s technical documentation, though I did search them all for mentions of Shooters Hill, Oxleas and Plumstead: I found barely a handful that were relevant, and only one on traffic impacts. This was in a footnote to a summary table at the end of “Report F Gallions Reach Ferry and Tunnel”, which indicated that there may be critical traffic impacts on the South side:
Particularly increased traffic on tunnel approach roads in Thamesmead, Plumstead & East Wickham (on A2016, A206, A209 & A205). Highways works and traffic management will mitigate but not necessarily eliminate negative impacts
The traffic flow map above comes from the Traffic Impact Report. Compared to the map in the London Borough of Newham’s report on the Economic Impact of Gallions Reach Crossings it seems to show lower flows through residential roads in Plumstead and Bexley. This may be because it uses a different traffic modelling tool to that used by Newham. It uses a model called the London Regional Demand Model (LoRDM) which models highways using TfL’s River Crossings Highway Assignment Model (RXHAM); Newham used another TfL model called ELHAM. However TfL do add the caveat:
It should be noted that the RXHAM is strategic in nature and is used to identify broad changes in traffic patterns across the highway network, as well as the magnitude of this change. The results should not be taken as a definitive forecast of future flows, especially on minor roads or at individual junctions. Also the models do not yet assume any mitigation measures that might be introduced such as changes to junction capacities or new traffic calming measures.
The map shows some traffic increase through Plumstead and Knee Hill, but surprisingly nothing coming from the South Circular at Woolwich. I wonder where all the traffic that currently crosses the river on the Woolwich Free Ferry goes to? Later in the document in the section about the routing of trips using an enhanced Woolwich Ferry it states that “the main roads used to access the ferry south the River Thames are Beresford Street, Western Way and Eastern Way.” Again no South Circular. Is something missing from the model?
TfL’s work on the traffic impacts of a Gallions Reach crossing will not, in my opinion, be complete unless they include a convincing, costed proposal for solving the inadequacies of the transport network south of the Thames that politicians commit to. Otherwise the additional traffic generated by the new crossing will overload local residential roads leading to pressure for new roads and a renewed threat to our heritage ancient woodland.
It’s still not complete, and as it stands will lead to increased traffic through residential roads that weren’t designed to take it, leading to pressure for more road building and threatening Plumstead and Oxleas Wood. Not to mention the end of the Woolwich Free Ferry. A campaign to oppose the Gallions Bridge is being set up.
Postscript:
I asked my questions at the roadshow in Woolwich on Saturday. As far as TfL is concerned the Silvertown Tunnel is going ahead so they felt it would be wrong to not include it in the traffic models, and they expect it to be complete before any of the other crossings. Of course if there were no Silvertown Tunnel, I was told, traffic flows over the other crossings would be significantly higher. They didn’t feel it was dishonest not to include the results of modelling without Silvertown. There will be two more consultations about the Silvertown Tunnel, but they would not be about whether it was built but how.
I expressed surprise at the results of the traffic modelling: in particular the predicted reduced traffic flows from the South Circular Road through Woolwich to a proposed Gallions Reach Bridge, and that the increased flows predicted seemed to show traffic would go along the M25 as far as the approach to the Dartford Crossing, and then turn off along the Thames to Gallions Rach to cross there. The only response was “that’s what the model shows”. There are no current plans for improved road infrastructure South of the Thames, and I was advised to express my concerns in the consultation.
HOK and Arup design for proposed Thames crossing bridge
Hannah, the Education Officer at Woodlands Farm, wrote with details of their Summer Holiday Activities for children and about a series of bat walks at the farm in the next couple of months. The children’s activities are:
Tuesday 19th August Orienteering
10am-2pm £1 per child
Can you find your way around the farm without getting lost? Try our different orienteering courses to see how good you are at navigating. No need to book, just drop in.
Friday 22nd August Be a Farmer for the Day
10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm £3 per child, accompanying adults free
Ever fancied seeing what it is like to be a farmer? Join us as we have a go at feeding and weighing our animals as well as walking our fields to check all our animals. This event is only suitable for children over 8 years. It is essential to book, call 0208 319 8900
Tuesday 26th August Dragonfly Day
11am-3pm £1 per child
Drop in for a day all about these fantastic insects. Go dragonfly spotting, follow our trail or make your own dragonfly to take home. Just drop in, for more information call 020 8319 8900
Wednesday 27th August Science Investigators
11am-1pm and 2pm-3pm £1 per child.
Would you like to have a taste at being a scientist and doing investigations? We will be delving into the world of biology with microscopes, owl pellet dissection and more. Drop in to find out more about science. More information call 020 8319 8900.
Common Red Soldier Beetle, also known as the Hogweed Bonking Beetle, at Woodlands Farm
The Bat Walks are on Wednesday 20th August at 8pm. Thursday 28th August at 7.45pm and Wednesday 3rd September at 7.30pm. Booking is essential, and you’ll need to be quick as places always fill fast: book by e-mail at education@thewoodlandsfarmtrust.org or by phone on 020 8319 8900. You’ll be walking around the farm’s meadows in the dark so you will need to wear sturdy footwear and suitable outdoor clothing and bring a torch. Children must be accompanied by an adult and the walks are not recommended for children under 6. They cost £4 for adults and £2 for children.
Volunteers at the farm have been taking part in the bat Conservation Trust’s National Bat Monitoring Programme recently and in the first of their July survey walks again detected both Common and Soprano Pipistrelles and Noctules. However they didn’t see anything auite as big as Biggles the Pipistrelle, pictured below, which featured at Bat Fest at the Natural History Museum recently. Probably just as well.
Biggles the giant Pipistrelle at Bat Fest at the Natural History Museum
